The Worst Product Ever

Waste is super not simple...so we have ways of simplifying it in our heads. The Flexplay DVD gives us insight into exactly how that works. We decide whether it's OK to throw something away by thinking about how valuable it is. A plastic bottle is just a container that holds something, but a DVD is the thing I purchased! Or...is it?
I talk more about why a bottle of coke and a DVD are roughly equivalent over on hankschannel: • Let's Talk About the L...
Thanks to Technology Connections for sending me the disc!
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[@dominictemple]

With regards to new technology, the late writer Douglas Adams had a famous quote that is somewhat applicable here: “I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”

[@celinak5062]

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[@luanacastro8391]

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[@ellw7830]

My old pal, Douglas Adams

[@WintaAssefa]

nice

[@spriddlez]

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[@elizabethr5270]

I'm way too amused that of all the VHS tapes that may still be around in someone's house, Hank chose "The Emperor's New Groove." Excellent choice, Hank.

[@Andresfin]

I honestly love the experience of VHS tapes. It was so much fun watching them with the family or forgetting to turn it back and blaming it on a sibling. 😂

[@Andresfin]

Also love the Emperor's New Groove

[@rftt6y7tr]

I found vhs are easier then DVD for young children it’s harder to scratch I think that’s why so many kids vhs are still around

[@MissLilyputt]

Ariel Safran Very true. No menus to navigate, only play, rewind, and fast forward. No instructions necessary.

[@avantikashaha7959]

@@Andresfin And if you went to a friend's house and the had a car shaped re-winder you knew they were Cool(TM)

[@djmackay2011]

This video really made me re-think my attitudes about waste. I had never considered the emotional ties that change what I think can be tossed and what should be preserved. Thanks for giving me a new insight!

[@DiannaBlack]

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[@elonmush4793]

Agree, I would definitely like Hank to make more videos like this. Also, you guys might wanna check out the PBS channel Hot Mess.

[@pendlera2959]

This is part of the problem people with hoarding disorder have: They are emotionally connected to things that are meant to be (or need to be) thrown away. They don't see a difference between throwing away an empty bottle of Coke and throwing away a precious heirloom doll.

[@kaleidoslug7777]

UNRAVLED HELL YEAH

[@RachelWolfe]

"steaming was just around the corner"

[@vlogbrothers]

You don't Steam your movies?

[@Azzarinne]

@@vlogbrothers I Steam my games. Does that count? 😁

[@JonathanDJCureton]

I definitely prefer sautéed movies. Or crispy toasted ones.

[@iamalexkempton]

@@vlogbrothers I steam my hams

[@Donaldbert]

I didn't know movies were a thing that long ago… Before the industrial revolution.

[@popinjayackroyd4526]

I think that this misses a larger reason for the anger. It isn't just that there is waste in a left-over container. It is that it is deliberate destruction. The company had to go through extra WORK to make sure that that DVD would not play after 3 days. Had they done NOTHING the DVD would be of a superior quality and would last years. It seems/feels spiteful.

[@avryantoinette]

But the DVD isn't the product. The MOVIE is the product. The company isn't actually "destroying" the movie because the movie still exists in other storage containers. I understand why you say it feels spiteful because I had the same knee-jerk reaction, but after thinking about it for a bit I'm realizing that this is just another inconsistency in logic, just like the one Hank talks about in this video. When you rent the DVD you're paying for a certain experience, which is watching the movie once (or twice I guess.) That experience is delivered to you in a container that goes away after the experience is complete. If you buy the DVD you're paying for a different experience, which is watching the movie as many times as you want. An accurate analogy would be a library book, if library books cost money. You're not actually paying for the paper and spine of the book to "rent" it for a few days; you're paying for the experience of reading it once or twice. Then the library will take the book away from you again. Or you can choose to buy the book, in which case you're paying for a completely different experience.

[@popinjayackroyd4526]

@@avryantoinette I understand that if you erase the DVD the actual existence of the movie isn't destroyed any more than if I destroy one copy of a book call copies disappear. My point is a psychological one. The destruction of the DVD doesn't just seem wasteful. It seems malicious. The company is going out of its way to destroy a copy of a movie that would continue to function had they not done so. They had to go through effort to take the thing that you would otherwise have had away from you. When one finishes with a plastic bottle and one throws it away it is because one doesn't want it anymore. It isn't made to self-destruct. I understand also that this is meant to be an alternative to renting---in which case one also gives back the movie. But, the psychological effects are different. It underscores the greed . Extra effort is put in to simply take a copy of the movie out of existence.

[@ObjectsInMotion]

Fred Curry So your argument is basically pointing out the psychological flaws of the average human. Why should a company be punished for the illogical psychology of some? The company is attempting to offer a service by providing a cheaper product, and they can only legally do that if it isn’t permanent. You are benefiting from a cheaper product. The only reason this product is bad is because it was obsolete by the time it was created. But Netflix showed that the service it would have created is one people want.

[@MagikosEksMaikhina]

@@ObjectsInMotion Netflix =/= self destructing dvds. Netflix doesn't charge you per movie, or put you on a timeline for watching it, or deal with shipping physical materials. Also there's no legally requirement for a company to sell things at x or y price, its about preserving resale value. And why not punish a company for acting counter to human psychology? Companies spend trillions of dollars to take advantage of human psychology after all, from adds and marketing research, to the things Hank said about thicker containers implying a higher quality product, the economic landscape is a mental one.

[@0ctothorp]

@@ObjectsInMotion It's a bad product because everybody along the chain is losing out. The rental store is losing out because normally they would have a DVD to rent again at the end of the rental, on top of not having a customer return to the store so they think about and purchase rentals less, the people who rented the DVD now have something they need to throw out with a more limited rental time than the standard 5-7 days. Basically the ONLY people who benefited from this were the manufacturers who over time would be making the most money out of this since a normal DVD theoretically could be rented more than once and wouldn't need to be re-bought and reshipped every time. So basically no, this was a bad deal for everybody involved who wasn't directly manufacturing or shipping them.

[@johnchessant3012]

3:21 "It's much easier to question new things than to question things that have always been that way." Truer words have hardly been said.

[@AstolfoGayming]

That.. Yeah, that argument makes sense. When I saw the video that was my first thought as well, that it was wasteful to just throw away the DVD (Well, aside from "how?" when I saw the thumbnail).. But never thought about throwing away plastic bags, because they're just there. They always have been. That said, we use cloth bags for shopping because it costs less long term, and my country has a system where you're technically renting the plastic bottle that water and similar products come in. You pay, let's say, 20 kroner for half a liter of coke, and then you also pay 1 krone for the bottle. Now when you buy that, it's not noticeable, but you can then later return to any store and give it back, and you'll get that 1 krone back, and if you drink even a moderate amount of liquid things from plastic bottles, it adds up to the point where you want to do that.

[@Altrivius]

Some parts of America have that as well. Where I live you pay 5 cents per container (plastic, metal, or glass) at checkout, and in some other states it's 10 cents or more, but the basic idea is the same. It seems to work well even on a psychological level, as I remember once visiting Colorado (which does not have any such redemption policy) and feeling practically criminal for putting an empty bottle in the trash. Probably similar to the feeling of throwing away a DVD, even a worthless self-destructed one.

[@thelastcube.]

That is such a good system. Even better with affecting people with adding the monetary value

[@ConstantlyDamaged]

Here, when I get my groceries delivered, I get the option to get them in bags. It costs $1, but if I return those bags with the next delivery, I get a refund of $1. They reuse the bags wherever possible. It's a good system.

[@shreki2057]

While the resource waste and pollution are important to consider, I wouldn't discount the fact that it's actual entrateinment media as being part of the backlash to it. I see it very akin to how protective many people are of books, even books they literally hate.

[@shellh929]

That's kind of what I was thinking when I watched this video. Thanks for putting it into words.

[@vathek5958]

Also the fact that this was intentionally made more wasteful than it needs to be. They took (more or less) a DVD, that normally would last effectively for life, and did a thing to it so that it was more temporary and wasteful. It's the most on-the-nose planned obsolescence imaginable.

[@dustinhiatt3835]

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[@JosephDavies]

@@shellh929 : It was a pretty big deal at the time, and with earlier attempts like DivX, too. The media-companies-versus-consumer angle of this story (and it continues today) is a hugely important one.

[@danmi7]

@@vathek5958 +

[@RedheadBallerina222]

Can Hank dye is hair pink for a punishment? Maybe even a temporary dye that only lasts a few days?

[@WhimsicalBlades]

I second this.

[@kinleybowman7069]

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[@hmcdnld]

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[@heidi64freedom]

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[@cubeofcheese5574]

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[@kadenlogghe752]

It’s really interesting how we never think that so many things that are marketed as fancy are wasteful just to prove how fancy they are.

[@KarolaTea]

I've even seen reviews for products point out how high quality the plastic packaging is... Not even a kinda 'reuse' packaging (like a DVD case), just the box it comes in and immediately gets thrown away (and either takes up wayyyy too much space in your bin/a long time to cut apart)

[@enycha22]

I think about this and it drives me nuts sometimes. I don't need extra wasteful packaging just to make it look fancy.

[@elonmush4793]

Also consider the correlation of product fanciness and amount of plastic used to protect, ship or display the fancy product!

[@rose_thyme1254]

Even like space as a resource. A building with a high ceiling is fancy because you can afford to pay for double the space for ~aesthetics~

[@dustinhiatt3835]

In most cases, "fancy" is just a nicer way to say "wasteful"

[@ja450n]

Watching in terror as he keeps shaking the coke bottle.

[@lutair0]

I love Technology Connections. Glad to see him getting more exposure. He's delightful.

[@JosephDavies]

He is! One of the best channels to mix education and entertainment on his particular topic genre.

[@Emily-un1wp]

Congratulations to everyone seeing this! I think we're doing well so far. Next clue, here I come.

[@shatteredtimelord]

This was a really interesting perspective on the way we value certain objects. Thanks for the video Hank

[@shieldmaiden3791]

I think part of the reason disposable DVDs got more backlash than something like Coke bottles is that Coke bottles are obviously recyclable while the disposable DVDs were not. Sure, there was talk of retailers offering a place to recycle those DVDs, but like Technology Connections said, returning them to the place of retail defeated the purpose. Also, you couldn't just throw the DVDs into normal recycling, so more people would have been more likely to throw them in the trash instead of putting in the extra effort to recycle them.

[@PyroDesu]

Yeah, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is very different in recyclability than polycarbonate. Namely, it *is* recyclable. In several ways - it can go as far as chemical depolymerization to revert it back to monomer, which can be re-polymerized. That's pretty much the ultimate form of recycling there is, I think - taking a used product and breaking it down to the original feedstock materials. If anything, it's better than recycling glass or aluminium because those take so much more energy to melt down into raw material. Now if only more people *would* recycle it...

[@craigdeblock3421]

But Coke bottles need to be relaxed too - aluminum is easier to recycle.

[@benjiwyatt8812]

And also, you don't have as much of a choice with Coke bottles. It's not like you can get it out of a faucet for at-home use. This disposable DVD is just intentionally creating more waste that was pointless. Even if it has less material than a Coke bottle, that doesn't mean we should be blasé about unnecessary waste.

[@jaynestrange]

I think also it's that once the dvd is done, it's done. There's not really anything you can do with it other than throw it away. But with something like a bag or bottle you could re-use or re-purpose it if you wanted to. For example: I put used cat litter in old plastic bags. If that's actually less wasteful, I don't know, but it feels less wasteful so I don't feel so bad. And plastic containers are good for stuff like paint or mixing up paste/plaster that will ruin whatever it's in. A dead dvd isn't terribly useful.

[@walle4918]

Agree! We need to be more environmentally conscious. And we definitely need to question everything.

[@360.Tapestry]

i have increased my environmental consciousness.... now what?

[@ursula.galvao]

This year I'm trying to be zero waste/ low waste this year and it's not too hard. It's a bit more incovinient and you need to be prepared when you go out. But it's definitely doable - the key is to find something that is sustainable for you (financially and mentally) and what is sustainable to the planet

[@Nortarachanges]

Good luck in your endeavors!

[@ursula.galvao]

@@Nortarachanges Thanks!!

[@munjee2]

I'll say what I said on Alec's video , despite being a terrible idea, the red colour looks really nice, its a good red red

[@benjamincook8479]

Another reason why people reacted differently is that a lot of the stuff you mentioned can be recycled and reused to reduce the enviromental cost of them (granted many people don't and that is a problem) but Flexplay DVDs can't be reycled

[@Nashy119]

I'm not convinced by that because we went through a long period of time where companies would give away CDs as marketing. Supermarkets would always have displays full of free CDs at the door. At one point 50% of the CD production worldwide was AOLs free trial CD which people just kept throwing away like junk mail.

[@vlogbrothers]

ZCG1POra4jk

[@tutterbear98]

Tua got it!

[@menicman7044]

we did it

[@MerelyFlowers]

Tuataria is RIDICULOUS and I love it.

[@theawesomesaucelady9]

WE'RE IN

[@petertilly9401]

AHHHH WE DID IT BABY

[@joegreaves8856]

My problem with it isn’t just with the waste of the material but how incredibly unnecessary it seems, the product is made to break for no practical reason other than making a company maximise profit. (It seems having done no research)

[@icedragon769]

No, it was made to break so that the company could sell a more restrictive license option. When you "buy a movie", what you're actually buying is the right to screen it in a private setting for the rest of eternity. The disc costs a few cents, the bulk of the cost is due to the fact that you will never have to come back since the rights are yours forever. If the distributor could instead give you the option to buy a right to screen a movie in a private setting for a couple of days, then they would be able to charge much less. Note that this is exactly what "digital rental" services like Google Play Movies are doing today.

[@josephdestaubin7426]

@@icedragon769 100% correct! And that's why it's like $15 to buy a movie on Google Play, and only $4 to rent one. Those lovely lovely licensing fees. And you got to think, some of those fees go all the way back to the actors.

[@oppie2363]

@@icedragon769 No. Nonononono. The framing you offer here is the result of a rather sinister (and rather successful) effort to redefine property rights by media companies over the last ~30 years. When you buy a physical piece of media, it is your property and you may do anything under the sun that you like with it, providing that said use does not infringe on a fairly narrow set of intellectual property rights held by the creator, all of which are fundamentally supposed to be about the production of "copies." If you buy a book, you're not just buying the right to read it in a manner prescribed by the publisher: you can also use said book as a door stop, cut its text into collages, read it back to front, scribble notes in the margins, or wipe your ass with it, because the book is your property. The only things you can't legally do with it are producing material duplicates or a narrow set of activities that have a similar market impact to copying.

[@jangxx]

@@oppie2363 But that's exactly the point. These DVD degrade, so you can't use them to play the movie anymore, which leads to lower licensing cost for the manufacturer. You can still use the DVDs as drink coasters or frisbees or whatever, the primary function does not work anymore, which is why it was so cheap in the first place.

[@oppie2363]

@@jangxx No. Read icedragon769's comment again, particularly the sentence beginning "when you buy a movie." This framing is pernicious, anti-consumer, was never intended in the relevant legislation, and exists solely to reconceptualize intellectual property in a way that maximizes media conglomerate profit while robbing the commons.

[@coreyc9741]

I think part of the reason we dislike the self-destructing DVD is not just the waste, but maybe also the whole.....intentional destruction of something that didn't technically need to be destroyed.

[@celinak5062]

Planned obsolescence is everywhere tho

[@jodammerungii6134]

@@celinak5062 it may be everywhere, but it's not normally rubbed in our faces so blatantly.

[@coreyc9741]

Celina, you have a point

[@vatsalamolly]

This is strangely appropriate timing. I've recently thinking about plastic a lot and have been having conversations about this with a friend. He sent me a photo of unpeeled oranges bring sold in individual plastic boxes. And this of course appears outrageous but once you start noticing it, we come across an unbelievable amount of unnecessary plastic every single day.

[@JustCallMeAnonymous]

This is so interesting! I have never heard of these disposable DVDs before and my immediate thought was about how horrible it is to just throw it out because it seems like something so valuable. I never considered that it was considered valuable not because of the amount of resources it contained but solely because we have been told that it is valuable and should be reused. While bottles on the other hand, we are told that they are not valuable and do not need to be reused so we don't perceive them as wasteful to throw away. This definitely has given me a new perspective.

[@anishs6764]

I was just watching Technology Connections when I got the notification for this video!

[@laurenelyse5637]

Me too!

[@MagickMitch]

@@laurenelyse5637 me three?

[@FancyGeeks]

Same

[@slothfulcobra]

Technically it's more than just plastic and metal, it's the energy that went into putting the information into the plastic. I can still use a bottle for various purposes after drinking the contents, but that's just a very light brick. Coke was also grandfathered into our understandings of trash because it originally came in glass bottles (and glass bottles go back centuries), although technically the glass was far less wasteful because they'd be re-used for more coke.

[@ObjectsInMotion]

The energy to put the information in is even less than that to create the plastic. Judging from the power of the laser (mW), it probably takes a thousandth of a cent.

[@Emilytheawesome131]

I was reading the last issue of National Geographic and there’s a lot of impactful stuff about waste ending up in our water and how that is and might effect sea life and other animals because of it. Even before I read that I’ve been trying a lot harder to be less wasteful. I realized that a great way I can help decrease the damage I cause to the planet is literally decreasing the waste I put out into it. anyway, I loved this video and what you said about the “luxurious experience” of coke, vitamin water, etc. You took discussions I’ve heard before a couple steps further. Thanks hank!

[@ChloeTGAP]

There’s so much waste in today’s world. It’s sad to think about all of the things that are made to break and be thrown out. Making conscious choices to buy reusable things can be difficult but you’ve reminded me that it’s important. Thanks!

[@SayItAintTso]

My problem with Flexplay was not so much that it was wasteful, but that it just somehow feels like robbery. There's something incredibly condescending about it. Like, we know that a DVD is a DVD, and that the manufacturing cost of all DVDs is about the same--and yet, these self-destruct just because capitalism doesn't want you to keep it. It's less that the DVD is destroyed, and more that it proves DVDs don't have to be so expensive, and WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE JUST SOLD ME A NORMAL DVD FOR THAT PRICE?! It's a painful (albeit painfully honest) reminder that companies just want to make a buck off you.

[@aliyaabdulrahim2616]

I love you, Hank. And I love your book, impatiently waiting for the sequel.

[@therealandrewlund]

Great video, and this topic deserves waaay more attention! I implore you Hank, to put your thinking cap on and work your magic against plastic waste.

[@Llova1]

I discovered Technology Connections about 2 weeks ago. I love how deeply he explains things, while keeping it simple.

[@markricker44]

I've never disagreed with Hank so strongly before... The protest wasn't about the amount of waste per disposable DVD, the protest was about the fact that they were disposable, which is a u-turn from near endlessly reusable DVDs from Netflix and Redbox.

[@EZboyrocks]

Mark Ricker ok but that was the point. A “rent” option that would only work for a certain period of time

[@RavenWindrunner]

Ideally you are never throwing out bottles of coke though, because they are recyclable.

[@alexguest]

Recycling itself is a waste of resources if what you are recycling didn't need to exist. That's what bothered me about bottled water. There was already tap water, there were cups and glasses and travel mugs.

[@zacharyhenderson2902]

Recycling most plastic waste isn't worth the effort, in terms of the energy and resources you're using

[@glidershower]

My issue with the Flexplays is that they're wasteful _for wastefulness sake._ First of all, there's no guarantee the seal it keeps it from intentionally degrading will hold even during their transport and vending machine insertion, so the risk of getting duds is high. Second, _no room for second guessing._ You can open a bottle of soda or water, take a sip and then think "You know, maybe I'll drink it later", leave it sealed in your fridge, and they will still hold good even after _months_ of forgetting about them. Good luck with that Majora's Mask timer of a disk. Third, is recycling/salvaging/upcycling efforts. Viable raw plastics are easier to chip and melt, and could be recycled for a few times before it would be better suited for salvaging or upcycling. A bottle, especially a sturdy one, will always be a good option to store water or other fluids. They could also make good flower pots, filter vessels, etc, my point is, even as "waste", they have the potential to be repurposed. Cases as well, they could store other CDs or serve as raw materiel, being mostly flat sheets of plastic, for other purposes. And metal containers are, surprise surprise, easier to recycle or salvage, and are _biodegradable._ Those Flexo disks have *neither.* The cost of recycling of the materials that compose them is too high to be viable, they're too brittle to be salvaged into something useful, and even in upcycling, they aport nothing. Had they been shiny, one could make the argument to use them as reflective matter or cheapo mirrors, but no, _they're opaque red._ So while the examples provided are good, they ignore their viability in the reuse cycles I've mentioned, while Flexoplays were made _to be landfilled from day one._ And that's without mentioning the exponential costs over time on making one-use Flexos instead of long-lasting media storage. Now, I'm not taking a shot at the video. It actually helps and brings good points to why it is good to recycle/salvage/upcycle, and puts into perspective modern attitudes towards emerging tech. But my only issue is just that: Flexos were made with them _becoming useless garbage from day one._ *And even a heartless, utilitarian misantrophic monster like me has to take issue on such wastefulness!*

[@ThatBookishWriter]

A 4ocean save the ocean ad stated playing after this, which is slightly better than I expected. Thanks for bringing this topic up, Hank.

[@marvintpandroid2213]

He is one of my fave websites, very good, well recommended

[@ohheycrystalhey]

Yes, but I think the mentality needs to be extended to EVERYTHING that humans manufacture and consume. That's essentially the core of the "zero-waste" movement - not that we need to ban plastic entirely, but instead to more deeply think, 'what is the "end of life" of this product that I'm using?' Can I reuse it? If it breaks, is it biodegradable? Is it recyclable? Can it be broken down for parts? We need to think about this for every single object that we produce. I was doing research a new phone case today for my phone. I could not find a single thing (that wasn't a scientific paper) on whether TPU was recyclable! You should make a crash course on the chemistry and economics of manufacturing and recycling. I would definitely definitely watch it

[@Margles349]

I still have all of my CDs, partially because I remember the experience and its value at the time. I remember paying 14 dollars for a physical album, weighing the pros and cons of buying when I didn't like every song, organizing CDs in big cases but still keeping the original lyricbooks/album art. I remember asking for CDs for my birthday, going into media stores, and just admiring the rows of physical copies.

[@thelastcube.]

Not only just processed food and bottle industry, an equally bigger part is the electronics industry. Today if you live a normal urban/suburban life, there is plastic everywhere around you. In your phone, in your computer, in your cables, in your car, in other people's car, in your TV, it's everywhere!

[@JamesJordanson]

Also because we think of a dvd as a kind of book, and "Where they have burned books, they will end in burning people"

[@Mark-gl3bb]

Your experiment was more meaningful than this, but I was hoping you were going to try to figure out a way to reverse the darkening to make the disc readable again.

[@electron8262]

Time to pass it on to NileRed

[@EmeliaSings]

I never thought about this, honestly I learn so much from watching these 4 minute videos. I'm not a person who buys this often, maybe I buy a bottle 1-2 times a month, because I do usually carry with me a reusable waterbottle. I only buy something if I'm going to the movies or having takeaway with a friend... But I can think of many times where I accept plastic from something I buy, but if I thought about it, maybe could buy in a different way so I don't have to accept the plastic. And to reduce how often I buy things that come with plastic waste. We all can be a little better. :)

[@AliJardz]

This is the best educational video I’ve seen on KZbin all year. I remember watching that flex play video and this waste idea didn’t even cross my mind.

[@KarolaTea]

I mean while the DVD may also just be a container... once you 'consumed' its contents they're still there. So by 'destroying the DVD' you're technically not destroying/wasting the container, but its content. Kinda like just having a sip from a bottle and then pouring the rest away (and then throwing away the bottle too probably). But yes. Maybe it's sometimes useful to think in 'we've alway used plastic for this/we used to do this without plastic', cause if you know there's a way without/with less waste... well you could do it again. And if you don't know a way yet, that's where we have a challenge (or just have to ask the generation before us).

[@cemeterygxtes]

This video made me remember when my family were so poor that to watch movies we would rent VHS tapes from the library. It makes me sound old but I’m only 14 lol.

[@RedheadBallerina222]

I Remeber that the public libraries didn't have DVDs because they were too expensive to replace.

[@kevinwells9751]

You don't have to be poor to take advantage of public resources like libraries, that's just wise use of money. I watched about a million nature documentaries as a kid from the library on VHS and it gave me a great interest in nature and zoology from an early age, and all for free

[@yisraelkatz1958]

Incredible timing as I just learned about this stuff in an environmental science class in college (I knew the basics before but more knowledge is always good). Also at 0:06 I was so certain you were gong to say you like the channel because of his choice in shirts.

[@fiercenunbothered]

OMG!!! I so remember these! I had a conversation with my parents about these and trying to explain that there was a disposable DVD in the late 90s/early aughts and they thought I was nuts. If I remember correctly, there was a time of overlap between flex play discs and (durable) DVDs and I remember wondering why someone would want a disposable DVD at all. How weird. I feel old now

[@wellwithmeri8222]

Dang... Anyone else here from the scavenger hunt? EDIT: Sort by newest... it's here :P

[@dholmes264]

StudyWithMer does John have a comment on here?

[@dholmes264]

I can’t find it

[@CuriosityKilledTheMartianCat]

@@dholmes264 Sort by newest, it was ~1 hour ago

[@lainebow720]

John commented on 0:34 “steaming was just around the corner” about steaming movies🤷‍♂️

[@iisgray]

Real question to anyone who's willing to give me sources in their answer: What's the deal with everyone getting upset about recyclable plastic? Like. It can be recycled. It's safer to ship than glass, it's cheaper than glass, and when it ISN'T recycled and is thrown away, it's safer for bystanders to pick up and toss in the correct bin than glass is. Is it just me, or would our energy be better spent railing against specifically non-recyclable plastics and the people who don't recycle the things that can be, and the cities that don't make it easy to do so?

[@matthaus8606]

This isn't a complete answer, but here are a few aspects to consider: 1. Just because a piece of plastic is thrown in a recycling bin (for instance in the USA) does not necessarily mean that (all of it) it is recycled. You will find numerous resources if you google smth like "recycling isn't working". A lot of it is exported to poorer countries that may lack the resources to handle it properly. (see e.g. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/recycled-plastic-america-global-crisis) Here is a whole series on problems related to plastic waste, including "recyclable" plastic: www.theguardian.com/us-news/series/united-states-of-plastic 2. Even if it is recycled, the resulting product is often of far inferior quality to the original raw material, such that it cannot be used for a similar purpose. This may improve in the future through technology advances, e.g. this exciting development published this month: www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2149-4 and a media article talking about it: www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/08/scientists-create-mutant-enzyme-that-recycles-plastic-bottles-in-hours This is encouraging, but it also reminds us that true recycling (as opposed to something that should arguably be named "downcycling") is very much an emerging technology today. 3. I am guessing that this point may be important, but I haven't looked for quantitative data on it: non-recyclable plastic probably includes materials that have been designed to have special, very specific properties. The great thing about plastics is that they offer an incredible variety of materials that can be engineered to fit your purpose (think about medical applications for smth that has a strong claim to being ethical). These cannot be so easily replaced or done without. I think the plastic products people rail against are those that are superfluous (such as excessive packaging) or could be replaced by reusable products; they just happen to be recyclable, and because of 1. and 2. it does seem reasonable to try to limit their use anyway. A short note on glass bottles: They can be refilled, so you'd have to factor that into any assessment of their (environmental) cost. Hope this is helpful to you in any way!

[@samholder196]

Great video. And by the way, you and your brother give me endless hope for our species. I love you both, and I can only pray that your voices are exponentially amplified throughout (and beyond) your lives. Thanks so much for providing joy and challenge in equal measure.

[@themiddlecase]

Glad to see Technology Connections getting some recognition - it's an excellent channel!

[@appexsos]

irony of the human belief system.

[@strange2684]

Good morning! Have a wonderful day! ❤️ DFTBA

[@dannythecheshirecat]

You too!

[@Tiemewitte]

Totally agree with your point, we should reconsider waste. However, a big part of the freakout is about how different the media in the containers is. A film doesn't go away after you watch it, the company made that happen. Imagine coke bottles normally refilled magically, and then one company started selling coke bottles that you can only drink once. That would cause trouble too. It's just a totally different product.

[@GameUKShow]

Glad you are giving tech connections the exposure it\he deserves!

[@TheBetterGame]

Steaming was just around the corner? What is this Steaming? I want to Steam!

[@burgers8]

Playing video games from Steam does save plastic waste! Never heard it as a verb in this context before.

[@Gablork]

PUNISHMENT! It's been a while since we've had a good, old fashion, non-bet punishment. I look forward for your (hopefully mild, humorous and short-lived) misery Hank !

[@Nortarachanges]

Absolutely! I hope he goes for something that’s more funny and unique than actually punishing. Giving away peeps is way more interesting than another blended meal, for instance

[@Gablork]

@@NortarachangesAgreed! Hank humping the statues or hanging out in a target for a day were my favourite punishments

[@Dalenthas]

Methinks Technology Connections is going to get a spike in viewership. It deserves it, it's a great channel.

[@chadtindale2095]

Technology connections is my favorite channel i discovered last year. It's the best channel.

[@delecenac]

1. STEAMING was just around the corner?

[@lou2850]

You're punishment should be a vlogbrothers video every day next week including weekends

[@scaper8]

I just recently discovered Technology Connections. The channel is like crack. I cannot stop. Everyone should be watching it!

[@elonmush4793]

this might be one of my favorite vlogbrothers videos to this day - and it's not even a thoughts from places video (there is a lot of hard competition)

[@JudgementPlays]

Wait why was the video just called plastic

[@vlogbrothers]

Because there's something wrong with KZbin!

[@Azzarinne]

It was weird to have a different title pop down at the end. o.O

[@Azzarinne]

@@vlogbrothers Was that the file name or something?

[@vlogbrothers]

@@Azzarinne Yep. It auto-populates with the file name. But then I changed it before I made it live, but apparently KZbin didn't notice for a little while.

[@JosephDavies]

@@vlogbrothers The title hadn't sufficiently oxidized yet.

[@MysteryMii]

So environmental groups were critical of Flexplay because the DVDs were meant to be thrown away, yet they were fine with fast food companies just putting loads of DVDs into kids meals as toys, many of which probably ended up in the trash. Logic. (FYI, I'm not an anti-environmentalist person. I'm just pointing out the irony here)

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

"environmental groups"... is pretty wide-ranging. Most environmental groups have been against all frivolous waste, regardless of the source.

[@MysteryMii]

@@AnonymousFreakYT I'm just repeating what Quinn from Snazzy Labs said in his video about Flexplay.

[@lauren8135]

I'm a recycling nut, my local dump has a recycling area where you can bring all your different types of plastics, tin cardboard, paper, etc. I rinse off all the food/liquid products from the products and bring them all in because they are more likely to actually get recycled and not like just thrown out if they are clean and you sort them yourself. You just put them in the areas that correspond to the number in the little recycling logo (for different plastics). I don't think that is very practical for most people though cuz it's not a huge priority. We don't have recycling pick up cuz I live in county, not city limits.

[@petalheinrich8709]

that "hell no it's not" at the end was the cutest thing :)

[@shiffterCL]

This really puts a concrete example on how market campaigns actually do effect the way we think about the world around us. With just a few adds on television we mindless follow the message of the advertisers. eek.

[@hotsung]

Honestly what an eye opening 4 min video the commingling of value of product with its material content is something I was unconsciously doing. As we think about waste in our consumption heavy society, this is a simple but important lesson to keep in mind.

[@MK.5198]

Hank, I love that you love Technology Connections. Because thats something we have in common, and thats really REALLY cool.

[@glennwatson]

I recently moved back to Australia from the US. Big thing I am adjusting to is having to take my reusable bags to the store. They don't sell paper bags or anything like that only bulky reusable bags that cost like $1. I'm slowly remembering to keep one or two in my car now.

[@allissondiego1989]

Good to see two of my favorite KZbin channels together in a video

[@whyRedshoes]

I love you so much for having the Clue movie as your demonstration. Because the Clue movie is a phenomenal piece of film history.

[@TotallyRedonkulous]

This is a video I will come back to time after time. Thank you, Hank.

[@langsense]

A DVD is more than what it is made of, it is entertainment, it is education and it is also watchable for many, many years. When you mentioned the Flexplay DVD, which I'd never heard of before, I was immediately sick and angry that a company could think like that. I also get that way whenever I think of Fahrenheit 451.. the thought of the mindless destruction of any kind of art.. especially books.. makes me sick.

[@agbook2007]

I love that you referenced Technology Connections... it's one of my other KZbin channels that I follow. Excellent points... and I also liked that video, too!

[@isabbygabbyorcrabby]

I enjoy every vlogbrothers video but this one (with accompanying Hanks channel rant) was probably the most enjoyable one for a long time!

[@better.better]

myself being in the retail inventory business, I am often confronted with the reality of human greed, both on the side of the businesses that hire the company I work for and on the side of customers. I have seen many, many, empty packages but surprisingly, I only just realized while watching this, that I have never encountered an EMPTY DVD CASE... in other words nobody steals the media and leaves the case behind, to enable themselves to get away more easily, even though they technically don't NEED the case. This has to be one of the most successful anti-theft packaging concepts. But I digress, I'm just pointing out that there's a factor of packaging that you forgot: THEFT! If it weren't for dishonest people, there would be far less need for manufacturers to be wasteful in terms of oversized packaging when it comes to higher value items that can easily be slipped into a pocket, such as with electronics and storage media. Granted, Staples and BJ's have those large clear reusable cases, but those aren't a viable solution for smaller companies that don't have the manpower to put the products in them as they're received, because if they could, then they would.

[@tarafreimund1901]

I love this presentation of how we conceptualize the worth of goods. Great coverage Hank, thank you.

[@dannythecheshirecat]

This was super interesting and thought-provoking. Thank you Hank!

[@jmbeyma]

Hank, you’re great. Thank you for making such quality content over such a quantity of time. I live in Michigan, and for over a decade have worked in the recycling industry. They deal primarily in bottles (PET & HDPE, and glass) and cans (aluminum). I mention Michigan because we have the largest source of freshwater in the world, and many of us feel it is our responsibility to be mindful stewards of this precious resource. But also because we have a bottle bill that results in a 90% redemption rate (bringing the materials back to be recycled). Unfortunately, that law does not yet include non-carbonated products. While there is a case to be made that the plastics we recycled have gone on to have a much more substantial second cycle (clothing & car parts, mostly), the real win is in recycling aluminum. Recycling aluminum is far less energy intensive and less disruptive to the environment than mining it. And aluminum, unlike many other resources, has a near 100% rate of reclamation due to the recycling process. Making a can from recycled materials is 95% more energy efficient than using mined material. Eventually, all aluminum used will be able to come from recycled sources - that date might be further out if there is a large increase in aluminum usage (such as the current trend of automobile manufacturers going to aluminum frames to increase fuel efficiency). So, all of that is my case for consumer beverages to be packaged in either aluminum or clear glass (the most valuable because it is the best to recycle).

[@lewismassie]

I'm so glad you watch that channel, there's so much cool stuff he talks about

[@jordanmeyer9577]

i absolutely love it when one youtuber references another youtuber.... then builds an even more amazing thing on top of it.

[@fairygirl626]

Hank. This is awesome. Thank you. I usually think a little bit during Vlogbrothers videos but this was the kind of content that I've missed.

[@TheOriginalNCDV]

Technology Connections is awesome! One of my favourite channels these days.

[@shodanxx]

The drive back to blockbuster to bring the movie back had a worst environmental impact that a disposable dvd.

[@hexyoutubeaccount]

can you punishment be promoting more technology connections videos? that guy is so wholesome and his content is so high quality

[@kaleidostar88]

this is just reminding me that I have a whole bunch of soft plastics from packaging that I don't want to throw out because it's recyclable, but I can't just put them it in my recycling bin and I can't figure out where I could take them, so they sadly may just end up in the trash. People make a big deal about are things recyclable but I think the bigger issue is how easily can the end consumer recycle them. It doesn't matter if something can be recycled if people can't get them to the correct facilities.

[@theotherVLF]

I'm going to school for Materials Science and I am very much interested in the life cycle of polycarbonate! You have to send DVD's and CD's to specific recycling centers due to the need remove metal(s) and acrylic lacquer from the polycarbonate before it can be reused.

[@whereisangie]

great video hank! i never thought of it like this before.

[@FrostyVenar]

Hank talking about one of my favorite channels? This is a win on many levels!

[@seemoretoys5944]

When plastic first came into widespread use the plastic was made to look like the natural material it was replacing such as wood, leather, and metals. This changed when new products were introduced, that would never be of natural materials, such as calculators, portable transistor radios, etc. Then, plastic stared to look like plastic.

[@Mikazha]

I recently started listening to Dear Hank And John (or as John likes to call it, Dear John And Hank), and on one of the episodes I just listened to you talked about DVD cases, why they are bigger than they need to be (compared with CD cases), and whether it's more wasteful to have bigger cases. I think the conclusion that one listener came to was that oil is used for many things, and different parts is used differently, so the bits that go into making DVD cases aren't that wasteful because they'd be used anyway. Or something like that... I think you also mentioned that the plastic was actually made from refined gas, not oil, but my memory is foggy.

[@03Destinee]

I agree completely! We often consider ourselves 'environmentally friendly' because we recycle but we often do not question our habits. For example, for years, like many, I've used reusable grocery bags but kept using produce plastic bags. It doesn't make any sense not to apply the same logic to produce bags, yet most often we don't! Why?!? (ps I now use reusable produce bags as well ;) and am now tackling other old habits one by one)

[@Cernoise]

I think that another thing that makes throwing away a DVD seem worse is that it seems like it should take a lot more work to put a whole movie onto a piece of plastic than it does to make a piece of plastic into the shape of a bottle, so it’s also that perceived effort that’s wasted.

[@kevinwells9751]

Wow, I opened up two videos in new tabs, this one, and Tech Connections new one, so when I saw him and heard you I assumed KZbin was just screwing up and got their wires crossed, but no, you're just talking about him by chance! How fun

[@HaySidney]

I love technology connections! I'm so proud of him!

[@Cae_the_Kitsune]

It's an interesting feeling learning that one KZbinr I watch also watchers another KZbinr I also watch. And also got a self-destructing DVD from him.

[@marljusweety]

In Norway you pay a little bit extra when you buy a (plastic) soda bottle or aluminum beer/soda can, and when it is empty you bring it back to the store (or anywhere else where they sell this kind of product) and return it. Most stores have bottle/can return machines set up for this. And then you get a refund on that extra cost you paid for your bottle/can. And almost all the bottles are then rinsed and processed and reused by the soda company, like Coca Cola. A bottle can be reused up to 17 times before being repurposed into other useful items like fleece clothing or other plastic items. There are tiny marks made on the bottle every time it is reused so you can see for your self how many "lives" your bottle has had. And because you get refunds for the bottles almost every bottle is being returned. Empty bottles have value and therefor does not go in the trash. It is a great system!